Protective garment containing malleable insert

ABSTRACT

A protective garment having plastically bendable shaping members affixed to the base fabric of the garment to facilitate shortening or lengthening of the garment by selective manipulation or bending of the shaping member or members. Such a garment is adjustable by the wearer and allows a single size garment to accommodate various wearer shapes and sizes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to user adjustable or expandableprotective apparel or garments. Such garments would be capable ofproviding some protection for an individual in a hazardous environmentwhile permitting easy size adjustability. Protective apparel orgarments, such as coveralls and gowns, designed to provide barrierprotection to a wearer are well known in the art. Such protectivegarments are used in situations where isolation of a wearer from aparticular environment is desirable, or it is desirable to inhibit orretard the passage of hazardous liquids and biological contaminatesthrough the garment to the wearer.

For example, in the medical and health-care industry, particularly withsurgical procedures, a primary concern is isolation of the medicalpractitioner from patient fluids such as blood, saliva, perspiration,etc. Protective garments rely on the barrier properties of the fabricsused in the garments, and on the construction and design of the garment.Openings or seams in the garments may be unsatisfactory, especially ifthe seams or openings are located in positions where they may besubjected to stress and/or direct contact with the hazardous substances.

Originally, surgical gowns were made of linen, the gowns beingsterilized prior to use in the operating room. Linen gowns were notcapable of preventing “strikethrough” of various liquids encounteredduring surgical procedures. As a result, the wearer's clothes came intocontact with blood and the like, and a path was established for thetransmission of bacteria to and from the wearer of the gown.Additionally, linen gowns, due to their high cost, had to be used anumber of times, thus necessitating laundering and sterilization betweensuccessive uses.

In an attempt to reduce strike-through of liquids and to eliminate theneed for repeated laundering and sterilization, disposable gowns weremade from fluid repellent nonwoven fabrics. These gowns reduced liquidstrike-through for a limited time. However, due to the generallyinextensible nature of these nonwoven fabric constructions typicallythey tend to have less ability to conform to the body than thepreviously used linens or knits. In order to accommodate for a range ofbody shapes and sizes, the gown is designed to be loose fittingespecially in the chest region, sleeve length, and gown length. Makingthe gown loose fitting generally minimizes the possibility that the gownmay otherwise be undesirably too tight in some area or areas. However,this creates the very obvious problem that the gown will be too big forsome wearers. By making the gown oversize a wearer having bodydimensions smaller than the maximum size contemplated by the gown issubject to areas or regions of the gown or sleeve that hang or arecaused to hang loosely. This phenomenon is known as “blousing”.Unfortunately blousing often occurs in or at regions which may beundesirable for the intended use of the gown. Such areas often includethe chest region, sleeve area, and the overall length of the gownitself.

Moreover, many health care facilities purchase only the extra large sizeversion of surgical gowns in order to minimize the volume of differentinventory they must maintain on site. In order to fit these gowns to anindividual who may be smaller than that intended by the gown size, thetypical wearer resorts to taping sections of the gown together tominimize blousing, for example, in the sleeve area or chest region aswell as cutting portions of the gown away so as to shorten the overalllength of the gown or shorten the sleeve length.

Thus, a need exists for an improvement in materials which may providesome degree of adjustability to an end user that may be incorporatedinto user worn protective apparel or garments. Such a material would becapable of being easily incorporated into the protective garment andwould also be economically cost effective to implement and practice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in thefollowing description, or may be obvious from the description, or may belearned through practice of the invention.

The present invention relates to a unique configuration of a protectivegarment, particularly a surgical gown, wherein regions of the garmentare selectively extensible to provide for adjustability to accommodatevarious size wearers. These areas or regions may be incorporated intothe garment by the addition of a dedicated material havingcharacteristics described herein or alternatively may be formed from thesubstrate material of the garment itself. In any event, these regionscontaining extensible materials or properties are typically surroundedby the remaining material of which the garment is made, generally anonextensible material and, thus, the regions of extensibility may bethought of as regions having extensible properties strategically locatedthroughout the garment.

It should be appreciated that, although the present invention hasparticular usefulness as a surgical gown, the invention is not limitedin scope to surgical gowns or to the medical industry. A garmentconstructed according to the present invention has wide application andcan be used in any instance wherein a user adjustable garment isdesirable in such applications as protective coveralls, gowns, robes,etc. As such, all such uses and garments are contemplated within thescope of the invention.

The garment, in form according to the invention may be a surgical gownhaving a conventional body configuration. That is, the garment may havea closed front portion made from a first panel of material and an openback portion defined by back panels that are attached to the first panelof material alongside the seams of the garment. In an alternateembodiment, the garment may have front and back portions formed from asingle piece of material. As discussed in greater depth, the style andconfiguration of the garments of the present invention are not intendedto be considered a limiting factor.

In an embodiment of the invention, a protective garment is providedhaving a garment body. The garment may be, for example, a surgical gown,a protective coverall, etc. Moreover, in one particular embodiment anexpandable garment is provided. The expandable garment may be a garmentbody having two sleeves attached. The garment body and sleeves may beformed of a nonwoven fabric having a first fabric surface and a secondfabric surface which is opposite the first fabric surface. A plasticallybendable shaping member may be affixed to one of the fabric surfaces,for example, the second fabric surface. This plastically bendableshaping member would be deformable and such deformation wouldselectively lengthen and/or shorten the garment. The plasticallybendable shaping member may be a soft wire insert, a sheet of malleablematerial, a polymeric structure, etc. In one possible embodiment, theshaping member may be a wire placed adjacent to and attached to a fabricsurface coiling from a first position to a second position. One suchexample being a coil of wire attached to an inner surface of the garmentsleeve and spiraling from a shoulder end to a hand end of the sleeve.

The shaping member may be encased within a sleeve, casing, pocket, orsome other form of covering to minimize the potential of direct contactby the garment wearer. For example, the casing may be a second nonwovenmaterial, the same as or different than the material of which thegarment is made. Another possibility is that the casing may be as simpleas an adhesive tape, adhering the shaping member to the fabric surface.In some embodiments, the shaping member itself may be adhesive and wouldthus adhere directly to the fabric surface.

In a further embodiment, it may be desirable to place a plurality ofsuch shaping members upon sections of the garment. Each shaping membermay be adapted to be independently lengthened to accommodate differentsize individuals. For example, the shaping members may be adapted toaffect overall garment length, affect overall sleeve length, and toaffect garment width. Such a garment may prove useful as medicalapparel, surgical gowns, shirts, and/or coveralls.

Embodiments of the protective garment according to the invention aredescribed below in greater detail with reference to the appendedfigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of a surgical gown according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cutaway view of a shaping member of the FIG. 1embodiment within a casing of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts the shaping member in the form of a malleable wire insertspiraling along a sleeve of the FIG. 1 embodiment; and

FIG. 4 depicts one alternative embodiment of the shaping member,specifically in the form of a malleable sheet material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to one or more embodiments of theinvention, examples of which are graphically illustrated in thedrawings. Each example and embodiment are provided by way of explanationof the invention, and not meant as a limitation of the invention. Forexample, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment maybe utilized with another embodiment to yield still a further embodiment.It is intended that the present invention include these and othermodifications and variations.

FIG. 1 illustrates an expandable garment 10 having a garment body 12 andtwo sleeves 14. Each of the sleeves 14 is characterized in that it has alength that may be extended or shortened at the discretion of a weareras described infra. The garment body and/or sleeves may be manufacturedof a variety of materials including nonwoven and woven fabrics.Regardless of the materials, the fabric selected is characterized inthat it would have a first fabric surface 16 and a second fabric surface18. In the FIGs., this is depicted, respectively, as an outside surfaceand an inside surface when viewed from the perspective of the garmentwearer. However, it should be understood that the surfaces may bereversed from this configuration without deviating from the invention.

Plastically bendable shaping members 20 are disposed adjacent to, or insome embodiments attached or otherwise affixed to various portions ofthe second surface 18. Selective manipulation or deformation of eachmember 20 would enable the wearer to lengthen or shorten the fabric asdesired. For example, a shaping member 20 may be situated on the garmentsleeve 14 to facilitate lengthening or shortening of the sleeve. Otherareas of the garment may be found suitable for placement of additionalshaping members 20. These areas include but are not limited to thegarment body 12 to lengthen and shorten overall garment length, the backand/or chest region of the garment to minimize blousing, as well as anyopen portion to enable gathering of material to minimize the potentialfor entry of undesirable materials, such as bodily fluids encounteredduring a surgical procedure.

In some embodiments the shaping member 20 may be a flattened sheet ofmalleable material such as a metallic foil as depicted on the rightsleeve of FIG. 1. In other embodiments the shaping member 20 may be alength of soft wire insert or a coil of soft wire as depicted on theleft sleeve of FIG. 1. Though a garment may contain one or moreconfigurations of shaping members 20, the two embodiments depicted inthe FIG. 1 garment are meant to illustrate potential embodiments ofshaping members and should not be construed as a requirement that morethan one form must be in a single garment.

Moreover, the actual material from which the shaping member is made isnot critical to the invention. However, it desirably has the propertythat it can be repeatedly bent, plastically deformed, or otherwisemanipulated and it will essentially retain its shape or configurationthat it was placed in. The phrase “essentially retain its shape” ismeant to allow some slight reformation, creep, or spring-back to themember.

Looking now to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the shaping member 20 maytake the form of a malleable insert within a portion of the garment,such as a pocket or casing 22. In some embodiments, the shaping membermay be removable as depicted, however, other embodiments encase theshaping member therein. For example the shaping member 20 may besandwiched between the second fabric surface 18 and a second material,such as second sheet material 24. In this configuration, the shapingmember or members 20 may be allowed to float freely between the twomaterials which are adhered or bonded to one another at bond points 25so as to create the casing 22. Of course, depending upon the size andshape of the shaping member or members 20, the casing could beconfigured so as to be large enough to enable some movement of theshaping member but not permit migration of the shaping member from thatportion of the garment meant to be adjusted. The two sheet materials maybe affixed to one another to create the casing by any mechanical,chemical, or thermal process including but not limited to a combinationof thermal bonding, mechanical bonding, chemical bonding, ultrasonicbonding, or other means well known and understood by those skilled inthe art.

Other embodiments contemplate adhering the shaping member directly tothe second fabric surface 18. In the case of a flattened shaping member,for example, a metallic foil, an adhesive would suffice to adhere theshaping member 20 to the garment 10. Alternatively, in the case of awire or wire-like shaping member, the casing 22 described supra would besuitable. Another alternative to the casing or to the existence of thesecond sheet material 24 would be to utilize an adhesive tape 26 tosecure the shaping member 20 to the second fabric surface 18.

Looking, for example, to FIG. 3, a garment sleeve 14 having been turnedinside out is depicted having a malleable shaping member 20 in the formof a soft metallic wire. The wire spirals from a first location 28 alongthe sleeve length to a second location 30. In the case of the sleeve 14,the first location 28 may be located proximal to a shoulder portion ofthe sleeve whereas the second location may be located proximal to a handportion or cuff portion of the sleeve. At any rate it may be seen thatby bending the wire upon itself or alternatively by straightening thewire, the sleeve may be effectively lengthened and/or shortened asdesired. In this embodiment the wire is secured to the second surface bymeans of the adhesive tape 26 which is depicted solely to illustrate oneof the contemplated embodiments. As such, the wire is depicted inphantom.

Looking to FIG. 4, a malleable sheet material such as a metallic foil isshown as the shaping member 20. In this embodiment discrete inserts arestrategically placed throughout the garment. These inserts are orientedparallel to the portion of the garment that is to be shortened. Forexample, in the sleeve 14, the shaping element is oriented parallel tothe sleeve length so that deformation of the shaping member along itslength serves to shorten the shaping member, thereby shortening thesection in which it is situated. As stated supra, the shaping members 20may be adhered directly to the garment thereby substituting areas ofmalleable material for the inserts.

The present invention thus far has described a garment 10 that may befound useful as a protective garment, particularly a surgical gown,wherein regions of the gown contain shaping members so as to enableadjustability to accommodate various size wearers. As stated supra,these areas or regions may be incorporated into the garment by theaddition of shaping members adhered to the fabric or alternatively maybe encased within a second layer of substrate material comprising alayer that may be of a similar configuration as the base fabric of thegown itself. Nonetheless, these regions are typically surrounded by theremaining material from which the garment is made. This material may bea nonextensible material such as a nonwoven substrate. It should,however, be appreciated that any garment made in accordance with thisinvention, including a surgical gown is not limited to any particulartype of material.

Conventional materials for forming gowns are well known to those skilledin the art, and any such material may be used for a gown in accordancewith the present invention. As such, the garment may be made from amultitude of materials, including nonwoven materials suitable fordisposable use. A material particularly well suited for use with thepresent invention is a three-layer nonwoven polypropylene material knownas SMS. “SMS” is an acronym for Spunbond, Meltblown, Spunbond, theprocess by which the three layers are constructed and then laminatedtogether. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,203 to Brock et al. Oneparticular advantage is that the SMS material exhibits enhanced fluidbarrier characteristics, making it desirable for use in a surgicalsetting. It should be noted, however, that other nonwovens as well asother materials including wovens, knits, films, foam/film laminates, andcombinations thereof may be used in the construction of the presentinvention. As such, it should be appreciated that the type of fabric ormaterial used for the garment is not a limiting factor of the invention.

Additionally, it should be appreciated that, although the presentinvention has particular usefulness as a surgical gown, the invention isnot limited in scope to surgical gowns or to the medical industry. Thegarment according to the present invention has wide application and canbe used in any instance where a user adjustable garment is desirableincluding such applications as protective coveralls, gowns, robes, etc.Consequently, all such uses and garments are contemplated within thescope of the invention. The value of such a garment may be easilyunderstood by drawing a comparison to the present state of the art withrespect to the solution presented herein. Presently a wearer of adisposable garment is provided with a single predetermined size. Customfitting of such garments is inherently impractical, therefore portionsof the garment are often left long or loose to accommodate a largerpercentage of wearer body shapes and sizes. Use of the garment describedherein containing appropriately located shaping members in certainareas, for example, in the garment arm sleeves, the garment leggings, atthe chest and torso region, as well as those regions directed to totalgarment length provides a wearer with adjustability. The garment mayinitially appear to be foreshortened, however, by pulling or tugging onthe garment at the appropriate region, i.e., providing the necessarytensile force, that region of material is extended by the partial orfull deformation of the shaping member contained in the region. Thisresults in a lengthening of the garment at the specific region neededfor proper fit for the wearer.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the embodiments of thepresent invention described and illustrated herein without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the invention. The invention includes suchmodifications and variations coming within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the appended claims.

1. An expandable garment comprising: a garment body having two sleevesattached thereto, the garment body and sleeves formed of a nonwovenfabric having a first fabric surface and a second fabric surfaceopposite the first fabric surface, a plastically bendable shaping memberaffixed to the second fabric surface for selectively lengthening andshortening a portion of the garment.
 2. The garment of claim 1 whereinthe plastically bendable shaping element comprises a soft wire insert.3. The garment of claim 1 wherein the plastically bendable shapingelement comprises a sheet of malleable material.
 4. The garment of claim1 wherein the plastically bendable shaping element comprises a coiledwire such that the coiled wire spirals from a portion of the sleeveproximate to a wearer's shoulder to a portion of the sleeve proximate toa wearer's hand.
 5. The garment of claim 1 comprising a second materialdisposed over and encasing the plastically bendable shaping member. 6.The garment of claim 5 wherein the second material comprises a secondnonwoven fabric.
 7. The garment of claim 6 wherein at least one of thenonwoven fabrics comprises a polyolefin.
 8. The garment of claim 5wherein the second material comprises an adhesive tape.
 9. A surgicalgown comprising: a garment body; two sleeves, each having length definedbetween a shoulder end and a hand end, each attached to the garment bodyat the shoulder end, and each comprising a shaping member affixed to aninner surface of the sleeve so that bending the insert decreases sleevelength and unbending the insert increases sleeve length. soft malleablemetallic wire
 10. The gown of claim 9 wherein the shaping membercomprises a soft plastically deformable wire.
 11. The gown of claim 9wherein the shaping member comprises a soft plastically deformable sheetmaterial.
 12. The gown of claim 9 wherein the shaping member is orientedparallel to the sleeve length.
 13. The gown of claim 9 wherein theshaping member is spirally wound around the circumference of the sleeveover the sleeve length.
 14. The gown of claim 9 comprising a materialfor encasing the shaping member.
 15. The gown of claim 14 wherein thematerial comprises a second nonwoven fabric bonded to the first nonwovenfabric.
 16. The gown of claim 14 wherein the material comprises anadhesive tape.
 17. The gown of claim 9 comprising adhering the insertdirectly to the inner surface of the sleeve.
 18. The gown of claim 9comprising at least one additional shaping member affixed to the gownbody for adjustably lengthening and shortening gown length.
 19. The gownof claim 9 comprising a plurality of inserts throughout the gown toenable customized fitting of the gown.